Dying Day
by Prince-Vermin
Summary: Neku's lived a life that most would be jealous of. He's ready to go home when his time comes. One of two. The sequel is One Week Passed in Eternity.


Coming home to Tokyo was strange. I'd been in Osaka for a long time on business and walking the streets of Shibuya seemed almost foreign, despite the fact that the citys' streets are similar. The reason for my abrupt return was probably what made it all the more surreal. My father was dying. He'd been fighting this sickness, this cancer for such a long time it seemed like...

I had stopped to stand in front of the statue of Hachiko when I got off of the train. He was there as always; unchanging. It took me back to the day that mother had found out about dad's sickness. She had left the hospital at a run. I followed her because my sister was too small to, and she only clung to dad's side. But I found her here. Screaming up at the sky.

"How dare you take him from me now?" Had been the words that came from her mouth as tears streamed down her face. People were staring. I had gone to her side, tugging at her, crying too because I knew that my daddy was going to die. She was pleading, offering to do anything to save him. And that made me sad too. She had wanted more time.

Dad beat all of the odds. It had been almost ten years since that doomed diagnosis. But now....? There wouldn't be any coming back from this. Mom had seemed to blame god himself for what was happening, almost like it was a personal grudge. Now that I know what I do, maybe it was.

When I came into his hospital room, it was quiet. Mom seemed listless. She was staring out at the Shibuya 109 building, staring at it as though she was waiting for something. It was like that time ten years ago... My little sister was there too. She was going to start her University career soon.

Dad seemed to be asleep, his face peaceful. It hadn't been that way often during life. He was always moving, always doing something.

Living with him had been hard early on. He'd been a lead vocalist in a popular band, and sometimes that caused a lot of stress on everybody. We were all proud of him though, because he said that he was trying to spread a message to the city. That the city needed to hear his voice. For me, that always meant that he was just in love with his hometown- since he was born and raised here. In fact he rarely left Shibuya, even when he was touring.

Mom was pretty famous in her own right. She designed clothes for a lot of people, especially for dad and his band. But she had a passion for art and creation in general. It showed, and remained strong even though Dad was the one in the real spotlight. He had always encouraged her, despite the fact that he was so distant.

From my point of view...It always seemed like he was waiting and watching for something, somehow in the same way that Mom was doing now. Who were they waiting for?

I sat down on the edge of his bed. He looked somehow younger, smaller laying there. Dark circles under his sapphire eyes were shocking, and the ones under mom's almost matched. He opened his eyes when he felt me there.

"Hey, son." His voice was so dry... And I knew that there were probably all kinds of vigils being held all over the city, his fans and worshipers mourning his death prematurely. The same people who had loved his hero, CAT.

"Dad...How're you feeling?" It was a stupid question.

He was silent for a while. "I'm going to see him soon." Mom made a noise almost like a scoff from across the room. She had tears in her eyes.

"Who? The guy you used to tell me about?" I never believed his crazy stories about angels and demons, about Composers and Reapers. But at this point I didn't have the heart to say so. He... believed that his Composer would come for him. Who was I to ruin a dying man's comfort?

"Yeah. Any minute. I think he's been waiting too. And someday, Mom and uncle Beat and all of you will join us too... so don't be sad." He really did sound like a raving mad-man at this point. The look in Mom's eyes then scared me though.

My sister looked at me, her eyes shining and wet. I just stared back, unable to reply.

"Sanae..." Dad called my name, and I looked down at him, trying to look less like I was going to cry. "You've got one hell of a Vibe. You'd make an awesome Player. Or Reaper. Or Angel. You take after me, so it's only to be expected." He wasn't really looking at me. It felt more like he was staring through me.

And his vitals started to drop. The machines he was hooked to were beeping loudly. I felt so numb...he was barely in his forties...This wasn't fair. Dad reached for the old, broken headphones that were laying there next to him. His thin fingers fumbling as he gasped for breath. Mom had run into the hallway, screaming for a nurse.

"Uzuki..." My sister looked over at the sound of her name, and she was crying openly now. She came over to me as I held onto her. And then dad smiled. He turned to look towards the other side of the room. There was a boy standing there who I didn't recognize. Maybe he had been there the whole time. I couldn't remember.

He crossed the room slowly with more grace than any cat and came to take dad's hand. Suddenly, there were tears streaming down his pale face.

"I knew it'd be you." Dad sighed.

"I guess I just couldn't take no for an answer all those years ago." The boy said simply, shaking his head. I was staring right at him but... Uzuki didn't seem to notice.

He looked at me, amethyst orbs that contained the entire universe meeting my eyes.

"Live. You can carry Shibuya now." He said quietly. My dad was smiling. He suddenly looked like he was a teenager again.

Mom came running back into the room, her eyes wet and miserable as she too, looked at the boy.

"You said I'd have more time!" She choked.

"Was ten more years not enough for you? Let him irest/i Shiki Misaki." He stared back at her, and mom looked down, the use of her maiden name making her cringe a bit.

"Joshua..." Was all she said, no longer full of anger and bitterness- only the sadness of the moment. And I looked at the boy called Joshua. He tugged at my dad's hand and there was light hovering between them. He sat up from his body, and I jumped at the sight. When he did... well, I had only seen pictures of my dad from back then. He was a middleschool student, smiling and standing with his best friend in the world.

"Sanae Sakuraba." Joshua said to me, and I had to look back at him. "You got your parents' Vibe. Lucky you." A pause. "Take care of your Mom. We've got work to do." And They both waved to me.

I never doubted Dad's stories after that. When he was finally gone, the body that was left behind didn't even seem like him anymore. I still saw the boy who was holding onto his best friend's wrist, smiling and laughing as though he were about to leave for a great adventure.

And I think he did.


End file.
